Family-focused financial wellness campaigns stood out at Pensions & Investments' 26th annual Eddy Awards.
John Hancock Life Insurance Co. USA, winner of a third-place Eddy in the financial wellness category for generic education efforts by service providers, focused its campaign on college planning, an important financial priority for many families.
The record keeper built an online college-planning portal that judges praised as "robust," "comprehensive" and a "great resource for parents."
Available to participants via their retirement plan websites, the portal provides resources to help participants and their children plan for college, including tools for searching for schools, prepping for college entrance exams, applying for scholarships and monitoring the college application process.
In addition, the portal's "family financial center" helps participants estimate unmet future costs for their children based on current savings, provides tips to help close savings gaps and suggests ways to make college more affordable.
Judges applauded the portal's scholarship information and the calendar alert system, which sends reminders for test dates and deadlines for applications.
"It's super interesting," one judge said.
